Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 4.djvu/113

1544.] said, touched the Emperor's honour. They tried to have confidence in himself, but they knew not what to think; and Hertford, without betraying names, mentioned the words which Cardinal du Bellay had used to Paget.

Charles replied, and with extreme graciousness. He professed his deep regard for the King. There had been matters between them, it was true, in time past, which, in other hands than his, might have caused displeasure; but he had put them aside; and now, he should have thought, his goodwill could scarcely be suspected. He had examined the treaty, and he seemed to admit that there was a kind of force in it. But it was now winter. If he declared war as they desired, he could not move till the spring; while at present, as a friend of France, he could use his intercession to some advantage. Compared to Charles, what a novice in diplomacy was Granvelle! The envoys had come full of indignation, and resolute to force an answer clear and positive. The courteous manner disarmed their attacks; the evasion was so delicate, that it could not offend. At such a season, as the Emperor suggested, the delay of a few weeks was of no importance; and it was hinted that the French were slower than they ought to have been in evacuating the towns in Savoy. On the whole, it seemed better to the Bishop of Winchester—still clinging to the skirts of his vanishing dream—'to depart with a dark answer than with a clear resolution,' if an unfavourable one. The interview closed as the rest had closed—not, however, without a few plain